during the
difficult heat of early August. Except south of Yoncalla, delaying
sowing until September makes very small seedlings that may not be
hardy enough and likely won't yield much in April unless winter is
very mild, encouraging unusual growth.

_Spacing:_ In October, transplant about 2 feet apart in rows 3 to 4
feet apart.

_Irrigation:_ If you have more water available, fertilize and till
up some dusty, dry soil, wet down the row, direct-seed like broccoli
(but closer together), and periodically irrigate until fall. If you
only moisten a narrow band of soil close to the seedlings it won't
take much water. Cauliflower grows especially well in the row that
held bush peas.

_Varieties:_ The best are the very pricy Armado series sold by
Territorial.

Chard

This vegetable is basically a beet with succulent leaves and thick
stalks instead of edible, sweet roots. It is just as drought
tolerant as a beet, and in dry gardening, chard is sown, spaced, and
grown just like a beet. But if you want voluminous leaf production
during summer, you may want to fertigate it occasionally.

_Varieties:_ The red chards are not suitable for starting early in
the season; they have a strong tendency to bolt prematurely if sown
during that part of the year when daylength is increasing.

Corn

Broadcast complete organic fertilizer or strong compost shallowly
over the corn patch till midwinter, or as early in spring as the
earth can be worked without making too many clods. Corn will
germinate in pretty rough soil. High levels of nutrients in the
subsoil are more important than a fine seedbed.

_Sowing date:_ About the time frost danger ends. Being large seed,
corn can be set deep, where soil moisture still exists even after
conditions have warmed up. Germination without irrigation should be
no problem.

_Spacing_: The farther south, the farther apart. Entirely without
irrigation, I've had fine results spacing individual corn plants 3
feet apart in rows 3 feet apart, or 9 square feet per each plant.
Were I around Puget Sound or in B.C. I'd try 2 feet apart in rows 30
inches apart. Gary Nabhan describes Papago gardeners in Arizona
growing individual cornstalks 10 feet apart. Grown on wide spacings,
corn tends to tiller (put up multiple stalks, each making one or two
ears). For most urban and suburban gardeners, space is too valuable
to allocate 9 square feet for producing one or at best three or four
ears.

_Irrigation: